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FBI called to analyse Frank Dunlop's 'redacted' diaries

The FBI successfully identified information which the Tribunal says Dunlop had attempted to conceal or alter.

THE FINAL REPORT of the Mahon Tribunal has disclosed that the FBI was involved in investigating Frank Dunlop’s diaries.

The report says that Dunlop’s credibility as a witness was called into question throughout his engagement with the Tribunal and that he was a “problematic witness” who had at times defied the Tribunal’s efforts to get to the bottom of political and planning corruption.

Questions arose over the quality of information provided by Dunlop in the form of his personal diaries, which he maintained himself.

“The redaction of some diary information (which ought not to have been redacted because it was related to Quarryvale), became evident to the Tribunal when, in 2001, in compliance with the Tribunal’s direction, Mr Dunlop provided his original diaries for the period 1990 to 1997,” the report says.

“When the original diaries were duly provided,” it continues, “it became apparent that a number of diary entries (or parts of diary entries) had been subjected to very heavy overwriting of a nature which indicated that a deliberate attempt had been made to alter them, obliterate them altogether and render them indecipherable.”

Upon discovering this, the Tribunal initially engaged a British company, before turning to the FBI for a forensic analysis of the diaries – with mixed results.

Both the Birmingham-based company and the FBI “successfully and conclusively identified information which Mr Dunlop had sought to conceal in a significant number of these diary entries, although both failed to yield definite results in relation to others.”

“The FBI declined payment for this service,” according to the Mahon report.

Liveblog: Mahon Tribunal rejects Ahern evidence >

Mahon Tribunal final report published – Here are its recommendations >

The who’s who of the Mahon Tribunal >

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5 Comments
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    Mute Fagan's
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    Mar 22nd 2012, 12:22 PM

    This scumbag was the FF Press Secretary for years. Even the flippin secretaries in FF are crooked. Will we ever see FF HQ’s being raided for evidence, will their party treasurers be brought in over the last 20 years to explain how party funds can so readily fund personal expenses by their leaders and leading party members.

    Don’t let these crooks spin that Mahon was a loser for the state, it cost 350mn, way too mucvh but it brought in nearly a billion in tax, fines and penalties.

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    Mute foggy_lad
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    Mar 22nd 2012, 12:41 PM

    Fair play to the FBI for not accepting payment for the good work they did, THEY OBVIOUSLY KNEW THEY WERE ON THE TRAIL OF A SLEAZY CROOKED SCUMBAG CRIMINAL.

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    Mute Gerard Murphy
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    Mar 22nd 2012, 12:51 PM

    I think it’s time the State decides that the thoroughly corrupt organisation known as Fianna Fail be shut down.
    All the way up to it’s very leaders it has shown breathtaking corruption and perjury.

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    Mute Fagan's
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    Mar 22nd 2012, 1:14 PM

    The mind boggles that FF TD’s, party treasurers and key donors are not having the Garda fraud squad beating down their door this morning. There are few countries in the democratic world that would allow an org. as consistently corrupt as FF to exist or be tolerated by the honest majority.

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    Mute Susie Chester
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    Mar 22nd 2012, 1:56 PM

    Gerard
    you are so perfectly right . Shut the whole lot down . Investigate ( Garda investigation) the whole Rats Nest. To Hell with the lot of them.

    10
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